saarahn's review against another edition
4.0
I came across this book through my library. I was seeking something that will help to make my brain more orderly (as if it were a messy room!) and me, less 'scatterbrained' or 'all over the place.' The first chapter 'Why Do Engineers Build Bends In Roads?' was perhaps the most informative in my case, and coincidentally, I wanted to look for something to improve my focus during long car journeys. I do remember learning the answer to this when I first took driving lessons. I love a good, long, winding road.
And according to the scatter-brained test (Broadbent's 1982, Cognitive Failure Questionnaire/ CFQ for absent-mindedness) I'm only slightly above average. I got 69 but ironically I can't remember the average... 40-65? Or 40-60? [Just checked, 40-60 is adult average. But I just did the same questionnaire again just now and got 74 so perhaps I'm worse than I thought. Too bad that improving attention was not this book's primary focus.]
Stress, itself, for me was always connected to exams which came too soon. But even then, thankfully, it was never unbearable. I think, I mostly have a good relationship with stress. After all, it doesn't last forever (Thank God for small mercies.)
I carried on reading because I found the case studies to be irresistible. Robertson doesn't re-write studies we've all heard of, but offers something that will be new to most of us- particularly when he writes the experiences of his own patients.
This book is more of a recount of Robertson's experience in understanding stress, over decades, through his work as a clinical psychologist and neuroscientist. This book was more scientific than psychological theorising- something I definitely appreciated. Invaluable work but I do have to add there will be some messages you'll have read elsewhere as some of his discoveries are a few years older than this book, itself. For instance, he includes how adapting a power-pose or, telling yourself you're excited instead of afraid, will boost your confidence temporarily. (This is something that is rather over-stated in Women's Health magazines ...)
Finally, The Stress Test is one I recommend, for dipping in and out of. No one is immune from stress, so it's important to reshape our understanding as we learn more about the powerful, and often debilitating, emotion.
And according to the scatter-brained test (Broadbent's 1982, Cognitive Failure Questionnaire/ CFQ for absent-mindedness) I'm only slightly above average. I got 69 but ironically I can't remember the average... 40-65? Or 40-60? [Just checked, 40-60 is adult average. But I just did the same questionnaire again just now and got 74 so perhaps I'm worse than I thought. Too bad that improving attention was not this book's primary focus.]
Stress, itself, for me was always connected to exams which came too soon. But even then, thankfully, it was never unbearable. I think, I mostly have a good relationship with stress. After all, it doesn't last forever (Thank God for small mercies.)
I carried on reading because I found the case studies to be irresistible. Robertson doesn't re-write studies we've all heard of, but offers something that will be new to most of us- particularly when he writes the experiences of his own patients.
This book is more of a recount of Robertson's experience in understanding stress, over decades, through his work as a clinical psychologist and neuroscientist. This book was more scientific than psychological theorising- something I definitely appreciated. Invaluable work but I do have to add there will be some messages you'll have read elsewhere as some of his discoveries are a few years older than this book, itself. For instance, he includes how adapting a power-pose or, telling yourself you're excited instead of afraid, will boost your confidence temporarily. (This is something that is rather over-stated in Women's Health magazines ...)
Finally, The Stress Test is one I recommend, for dipping in and out of. No one is immune from stress, so it's important to reshape our understanding as we learn more about the powerful, and often debilitating, emotion.
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